1
黄帝燕坐，召雷公而問之曰：汝受術誦書者，若能覽觀雜學，及於比類，通合道理，爲余言子所長。
黄帝燕坐，召雷公而问之曰：汝受术诵书者，若能览观杂学，及于比类，通合道理，为余言子所长。 Huáng dì yàn zuò, zhào léi gōng ér wèn zhī yuē: rǔ shòu shù sòng shū zhě, ruò néng lǎn guān zá xué, jí yú bǐ lèi, tōng hé dào lǐ, wéi yú yán zǐ suǒ cháng.
黄帝安闲地坐着，召来雷公问道：你是接受医道、诵读医书的人，如果能博览群书、参看杂学，进而做到比类归纳、通晓合于道理，就为我讲讲你的长处。
Huang Di sat at ease, summoned Lei Gong and asked him: you are one who receives the art and recites the books; if you can survey the miscellaneous learning and reach to the matching of kinds, so as to penetrate and unite the principles, then tell me wherein you excel.
2
五藏六府，膽胃、大小腸，脾、胞、膀胱，腦髓涕唾，哭泣悲哀，水所從行，此皆人之所生，治之過失，子務明之，可以十全，即不能知，爲世所怨。
五藏六府，胆胃、大小肠，脾、胞、膀胱，脑髓涕唾，哭泣悲哀，水所从行，此皆人之所生，治之过失，子务明之，可以十全，即不能知，为世所怨。 Wǔ zàng liù fǔ, dǎn wèi, dà xiǎo cháng, pí, bāo, páng guāng, nǎo suǐ tì tuò, kū qì bēi āi, shuǐ suǒ cóng xíng, cǐ jiē rén zhī suǒ shēng, zhì zhī guò shī, zǐ wù míng zhī, kě yǐ shí quán, jí bù néng zhī, wéi shì suǒ yuàn.
五藏六府，胆、胃、大肠、小肠，脾、胞、膀胱，脑、髓、涕、唾，哭泣悲哀，以及水液运行的道路，这些都是人赖以生存的根本。治疗上的过失，你务必明察；能够明察，才可以做到十全；如果不能知道，就会被世人埋怨。
The five viscera and six receptacles — the gallbladder and stomach, the large and small intestine, the spleen, the womb and the bladder, the brain and marrow, the tears and spittle, weeping and wailing, grief and sorrow, and the courses by which water travels — these are all that by which man lives. The errors of treatment you must make clear; make them clear and you may reach ten cases out of ten; if you cannot know them, you will be resented by the world.
3
雷公曰：臣請誦脉經上下篇，甚衆多矣，别異比類，猶未能以十全，又安足以明之？
雷公曰：臣请诵脉经上下篇，甚众多矣，别异比类，犹未能以十全，又安足以明之？ Léi gōng yuē: chén qǐng sòng mài jīng shàng xià piān, shèn zhòng duō yǐ, bié yì bǐ lèi, yóu wèi néng yǐ shí quán, yòu ān zú yǐ míng zhī?
雷公说：臣下诵读《脉经》上下篇，内容已经很多了，辨别异同、比类归纳，尚且不能做到十全，又怎么足以说明这些呢？
Lei Gong said: I have recited the upper and lower chapters of the Canon of the Pulse, and they are very many indeed; yet in telling differences apart and matching kinds I still cannot reach ten cases out of ten — how should I be sufficient to make this clear?
4
帝曰：子别試通五藏之過，六府之所不和，鍼石之敗，毒藥所宜，湯液滋味，具言其狀，悉言以對，請問不知。
帝曰：子别試通五藏之过，六府之所不和，针石之败，毒药所宜，汤液滋味，具言其状，悉言以对，请问不知。 Dì yuē: zǐ bié shì tōng wǔ zàng zhī guò, liù fǔ zhī suǒ bù hé, zhēn shí zhī bài, dú yào suǒ yí, tāng yè zī wèi, jù yán qí zhuàng, xī yán yǐ duì, qǐng wèn bù zhī.
黄帝说：你另外试着通晓五藏的过失、六府的不和、针刺砭石的失误、峻药所适宜的情形、汤液的性味，详细说明它们的状况，全部说出来回答我；有不知道的，我再问你。
Huang Di said: then try separately to penetrate the faults of the five viscera, the disharmonies of the six receptacles, the failures of needle and stone, what potent drugs suit, and the flavours of decoctions and liquids. Set out their conditions in full and answer me with all of them; what you do not know, I will ask about.
5
雷公曰：肝虚、腎虚、脾虚，皆令人體重煩冤，當投毒藥刺灸，砭石湯液，或已或不已，願聞其解。
雷公曰：肝虚、肾虚、脾虚，皆令人体重烦冤，当投毒药刺灸，砭石汤液，或已或不已，愿闻其解。 Léi gōng yuē: gān xū, shèn xū, pí xū, jiē lìng rén tǐ zhòng fán yuān, dāng tóu dú yào cì jiǔ, biān shí tāng yè, huò yǐ huò bù yǐ, yuàn wén qí jiě.
雷公说：肝虚、肾虚、脾虚，都会使人身体沉重、烦闷，应当施用峻药、针刺、艾灸、砭石、汤液，有的痊愈，有的不愈，希望听听其中的道理。
Lei Gong said: deficiency of the liver, of the kidney and of the spleen all make a man’s body heavy and his chest oppressed; one should apply potent drugs, needle and moxa, stone and decoction, and some cases heal while others do not. I would hear the explanation.
6
帝曰：公何年之長，而問之少？余真問以自謬也。吾問子窈冥，子言上下篇以對，何也？夫脾虚浮似肺。腎小浮似脾。肝急沈散似腎。此皆工之所時亂也。然從容得之。
帝曰：公何年之长，而问之少？余真问以自谬也。吾问子窈冥，子言上下篇以对，何也？夫脾虚浮似肺。肾小浮似脾。肝急沈散似肾。此皆工之所时乱也。然从容得之。 Dì yuē: gōng hé nián zhī zhǎng, ér wèn zhī shào? Yú zhēn wèn yǐ zì miù yě. Wú wèn zǐ yǎo míng, zǐ yán shàng xià piān yǐ duì, hé yě? Fú pí xū fú sì fèi. Shèn xiǎo fú sì pí. Gān jí chén sàn sì shèn. Cǐ jiē gōng zhī suǒ shí luàn yě. Rán cóng róng dé zhī.
黄帝说：您的年纪这样大，问的却这样浅少！我这一问，反倒使自己显得荒谬了。我问你幽深微妙的道理，你却拿《脉经》上下篇来回答，为什么？脾虚的脉浮，像肺脉；肾脉小浮，像脾脉；肝脉急而沉散，像肾脉。这些都是医生时常混淆的，然而用从容之法就能辨得。
Huang Di said: you are so advanced in years, and yet your question is so young! My asking it has only made me absurd. I asked you of the deep and dark, and you answer me with the upper and lower chapters — why? The floating pulse of a deficient spleen resembles the lung; the small floating pulse of the kidney resembles the spleen; the tight, sinking and scattering pulse of the liver resembles the kidney. These are what practitioners constantly confuse, and yet by the Congrong they are got.
7
若夫三藏，土木水參居，此童子之所知，問之何也？
若夫三藏，土木水参居，此童子之所知，问之何也？ Ruò fú sān zàng, tǔ mù shuǐ cān jū, cǐ tóng zǐ zhī suǒ zhī, wèn zhī hé yě?
至于那三藏——土、木、水错居其间，这是童子都知道的，问它做什么呢？
As for those three viscera, earth and wood and water dwelling together — a child knows that much. Why ask it?
8
雷公曰：於此有人，頭痛筋攣骨重，怯然少氣，噦噫腹滿，時驚不嗜卧，此何藏之發也？脉浮而弦，切之石堅，不知其解，復問所以三藏者，以知其比類也。
雷公曰：于此有人，头痛筋挛骨重，怯然少气，哕噫腹满，时惊不嗜卧，此何藏之发也？脉浮而弦，切之石坚，不知其解，复问所以三藏者，以知其比类也。 Léi gōng yuē: yú cǐ yǒu rén, tóu tòng jīn luán gǔ zhòng, qiè rán shǎo qì, yuě yī fù mǎn, shí jīng bù shì wò, cǐ hé zàng zhī fā yě? Mài fú ér xián, qiè zhī shí jiān, bù zhī qí jiě, fù wèn suǒ yǐ sān zàng zhě, yǐ zhī qí bǐ lèi yě.
雷公说：现在有这样一个人，头痛、筋脉拘挛、骨节沉重，怯弱少气，哕噫腹满，时常惊悸，不想躺卧，这是哪一藏发病呢？脉浮而弦，按之坚如石，我不知道该怎样解释，所以再问三藏的道理，以便比类推断。
Lei Gong said: suppose a man with headache, cramped sinews, heavy bones, timid and short of breath, belching and hiccuping with a full belly, often frightened and disinclined to lie down — from which viscus does this arise? The pulse is floating and wiry, and under the finger hard as stone. I do not know how to explain it, and so I ask again about the three viscera, to know them by matching kinds.
9
帝曰：夫從容之謂也。夫年長則求之於府，年少則求之於經，年壯則求之於藏。
帝曰：夫从容之谓也。夫年长则求之于府，年少则求之于经，年壮则求之于藏。 Dì yuē: fú cóng róng zhī wèi yě. Fú nián zhǎng zé qiú zhī yú fǔ, nián shào zé qiú zhī yú jīng, nián zhuàng zé qiú zhī yú zàng.
黄帝说：这就是从容之法所说的。年长的人，求之于府；年少的人，求之于经；年壮的人，求之于藏。
Huang Di said: this is what the Congrong speaks of. In the old, seek it in the receptacles; in the young, in the channels; in the full-grown, in the viscera.
Jīn zǐ suǒ yán jiē shī. Bā fēng yù shú, wǔ zàng xiāo shuò, chuán xié xiāng shòu. Fú fú ér xián zhě, shì shèn bù zú yě. Chén ér shí zhě, shì shèn qì nèi zhuó yě.
你刚才所说的都错了。八风郁积成熟，五藏消损，邪气相传。脉浮而弦，是肾气不足；脉沉而石，是肾气内著。
All that you have said is wrong. The eight winds pent up and ripening, the five viscera consumed and melted, the evil transmitted and received — the floating and wiry pulse is a kidney that is insufficient; the sinking and stone-like pulse is kidney qi clinging within.
Qiè rán shǎo qì zhě, shì shuǐ dào bù xíng, xíng qì xiāo suǒ yě. Kài sòu fán yuān zhě, shì shèn qì zhī nì yě. Yī rén zhī qì, bìng zài yī zàng yě. Ruò yán sān zàng jù xíng, bù zài fǎ yě.
怯弱少气，是水道不能通行、形气消索的缘故；咳嗽烦闷，是肾气上逆的缘故。一个人的气，病只在一藏。若说三藏俱病，就不合法度了。
To be timid and short of breath is the water course not moving and the bodily qi wasting away; to cough and be oppressed is the kidney qi rebelling. A single man’s qi falls ill in a single viscus; to say that all three viscera act together is not within the rule.
12
雷公曰：於此有人，四支解墯，喘欬血泄，而愚診之，以爲傷肺，切脉浮大而緊，愚不敢治。粗工下砭石，病愈多出血，血止身輕。此何物也？
雷公曰：于此有人，四支解墯，喘欬血泄，而愚诊之，以为伤肺，切脉浮大而紧，愚不敢治。粗工下砭石，病愈多出血，血止身轻。此何物也？ Léi gōng yuē: yú cǐ yǒu rén, sì zhī xiè duò, chuǎn kài xuè xiè, ér yú zhěn zhī, yǐ wéi shāng fèi, qiè mài fú dà ér jǐn, yú bù gǎn zhì. Cū gōng xià biān shí, bìng yù duō chū xuè, xuè zhǐ shēn qīng. Cǐ hé wù yě?
雷公说：现在有这样一个人，四肢懈怠无力，气喘咳嗽，血从上泄。我诊察他，以为是伤肺，按脉浮大而紧，我不敢治。粗率的医生用砭石刺他，病虽然好了，却出了很多血，血止之后身体轻快。这是什么病呢？
Lei Gong said: suppose a man whose four limbs are slack and heavy, who pants and coughs and passes blood. I examined him and took it for injury of the lung; the pulse under the finger was floating, large and tight, and I did not dare to treat him. A rough practitioner put the stone to him, and the illness healed, though much blood came out; when the bleeding stopped, his body was light. What is this?
13
帝曰：子所能治，知亦衆多，與此病失矣。譬以鴻飛，亦沖於天。
帝曰：子所能治，知亦众多，与此病失矣。譬以鸿飞，亦冲于天。
Dì yuē: zǐ suǒ néng zhì, zhī yì zhòng duō, yǔ cǐ bìng shī yǐ. Pì yǐ hóng fēi, yì chōng yú tiān.
黄帝说：你所能治的，知识也算多了，但对这个病却失错了。譬如鸿雁飞行，也能直冲上天。
Huang Di said: what you can treat, your knowledge of it is considerable, but with this illness you have missed. It is like the wild goose in flight, which also mounts to heaven.
Fú shèng rén zhī zhì bìng, xún fǎ shǒu dù, yuán wù bǐ lèi, huà zhī míng míng, xún shàng jí xià, hé bì shǒu jīng?
圣人治病，遵循法度，援引事物、比类归纳，在冥冥之中运化，由上面推及下面，何必拘守一经呢？
When the sage treats illness, he follows the law and keeps the measure, draws on things and matches kinds, and works his transformation in the dark of the dark; he traces from above down to below — why must he keep to one canon?
15
今夫脉浮大虚者，是脾氣之外絶，去胃外歸陽明也。夫二火不勝三水，是以脉亂而無常也。四支解墯，此脾精之不行也。
今夫脉浮大虚者，是脾气之外绝，去胃外归阳明也。夫二火不胜三水，是以脉乱而无常也。四支解墯，此脾精之不行也。 Jīn fú mài fú dà xū zhě, shì pí qì zhī wài jué, qù wèi wài guī yáng míng yě. Fú èr huǒ bù shèng sān shuǐ, shì yǐ mài luàn ér wú cháng yě. Sì zhī xiè duò, cǐ pí jīng zhī bù xíng yě.
如今脉浮大而虚，是脾气向外断绝，离开胃而外归于阳明。二火不能胜过三水，所以脉象混乱而没有常度。四肢懈怠无力，这是脾精不能运行。
Now the pulse that is floating, large and empty is the spleen qi cut off from without, leaving the stomach and returning outside to the yang brightness. Two fires cannot overcome three waters, and so the pulse is disordered and without constancy. The four limbs slack and heavy is the essence of the spleen not moving.
16
喘欬者，是水氣并陽明也。血泄者，脉急血無所行也。若夫以爲傷肺者，由失以狂也。不引比類，是知不明也。
喘欬者，是水气并阳明也。血泄者，脉急血无所行也。若夫以为伤肺者，由失以狂也。不引比类，是知不明也。 Chuǎn kài zhě, shì shuǐ qì bìng yáng míng yě. Xuè xiè zhě, mài jí xuè wú suǒ xíng yě. Ruò fú yǐ wéi shāng fèi zhě, yóu shī yǐ kuáng yě. Bù yǐn bǐ lèi, shì zhī bù míng yě.
气喘咳嗽，是水气并于阳明；血从上泄，是脉急而血无处可行。至于把它当作伤肺，那是失误而妄言；不援引比类，就是所知不明。
Panting and coughing is water qi joining the yang brightness; the passing of blood is the pulse urgent and the blood having nowhere to go. As for taking it for injury of the lung, that is to err and speak wildly; not to draw the matching of kinds is for one’s knowledge to be unclear.
17
夫傷肺者，脾氣不守，胃氣不清，經氣不爲使，真藏壞決，經脉傍絶，五藏漏泄，不衄則嘔。此二者不相類也。
夫伤肺者，脾气不守，胃气不清，经气不为使，真藏坏决，经脉傍绝，五藏漏泄，不衄则呕。此二者不相类也。 Fú shāng fèi zhě, pí qì bù shǒu, wèi qì bù qīng, jīng qì bù wéi shǐ, zhēn zàng huài jué, jīng mài bàng jué, wǔ zàng lòu xiè, bù nǜ zé ǒu. Cǐ èr zhě bù xiāng lèi yě.
真正的伤肺，是脾气不能内守，胃气不清，经气不能为用，真藏败坏决裂，经脉偏侧断绝，五藏精气漏泄，不衄血就呕吐。这两者并不相类。
In true injury of the lung, the spleen qi does not keep its place, the stomach qi is not clear, the channel qi is not employed, the true viscus breaks and bursts, the channels are cut off at the side, the five viscera leak and drain, and a man either bleeds from the nose or vomits. The two are not of the same kind.
18
譬如天之無形，地之無理，白與黑相去遠矣。是失吾過矣，以子知之，故不告子。
譬如天之无形，地之无理，白与黑相去远矣。是失吾过矣，以子知之，故不告子。 Pì rú tiān zhī wú xíng, dì zhī wú lǐ, bái yǔ hēi xiāng qù yuǎn yǐ. Shì shī wú guò yǐ, yǐ zǐ zhī zhī, gù bù gào zǐ.
譬如天没有形状、地没有纹理，白与黑相距很远。这是我的过失啊，因为你知道，所以没有告诉你。
It is as though heaven had no form and earth no grain, and white were far removed from black. This is my fault: because I thought you knew, I did not tell you.
Míng yǐn bǐ lèi cóng róng, shì yǐ míng yuē zhěn qīng. Shì wèi zhì dào yě.
明白地援引比类与从容之法，所以叫作「诊轻」。这就是至道。
To draw plainly on the matching of kinds and the Congrong — this is what is called the light touch in diagnosis. This is the utmost way.